I spent the weekend largely at home. I did get out and run a few errands. My hands showed improvement the last two days, as the atrophy and pain diminished. I am still experiencing numbness and tingling regularly and there is stiffness. I can use them almost fully, so I will be going back to work on Monday, although to an uncertain immediate and long term future at my employment. The improvement is largely due to time, but I also soaked the hands to try to help which it did to some extent, but I cheated and used excessive dosage of Advil (Ibuprofen) to get relief. This is a dangerous strategy for me for a couple of reasons. I could get addicted to the higher levels of pain reliever and there could be significant consequences internally - shortterm for the stomach and digestive system and longterm for other organs like the liver, kidneys, pancreas, and others. Hopefully I will be directed to a medical professional this week whom will make an exact diagnosis and proscribe treatment which will be in my best immediate and distant interests. It is evident that I will not be able to use hand tools such as a drill, pneumatic screwdriver, and most importantly, snips that are used to cut hard plastic that requires a strong grip and strength exclusively focused in the wrists and hands. This disqualification may result in my inability to continue this work, and I am unsure if there is are alternative tasks or if some can be created for me. I am in a state of uncertainty.
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So at least things got better physically for me in the last two days. I went out Saturday and went to KMart to purchase some shaving cream and shampoo as Walmart does not carry my brands. KMart here is a sterile store absent of life and activity moreover - essentially the store was a tomb as maybe there was eight to ten customers in the store on a Saturday around 5pm during the half-hour or so I was there. I have to think the store's days are numbered here and I would not be surprised to see it close down for good sometime in the next year, perhaps in months. The KMart down the road in Greeley is in the process of closing with a finale in mid September which is not a good sign for the store here. With such a glut of retail and the economy in tatters and increasingly worsening, the demise of older retailers like KMart, Sears, Radio Shack, and others is certain in the coming couple of years as these kinds of retailers are institutions of yesteryear and are out of style with most younger consumers as well as those that are more enlightened, educated, and sophisticated. Younger people and those with a decent income prefer not to shop at the places frequented by their parent's generation, the poor, and minorities/immigrants.
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My errands continued on to Walmart for some groceries. In contrast to KMart, the Walmart was packed and full of activity. I did not need much and did not get everything I could have. Eating a good meal before going grocery shopping always helps to keep me from purchasing superfluous items. Once I got home, it was more of a hassle and process with my hands in a weakened condition. Instead of one or two trips up the stairs to bring the sacks in, it took about 6-7 trips.
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The summer heat wave continues here as it has across much of the High Plains and Front Range corridor. It has been near or above 90 degrees here in Cheyenne for most of July as only one day this month has been recorded with a below normal high temperature. Denver is poised to shatter its record for most consecutive 90 degrees days. The record is 18 days from 1901, and Sunday 27 July saw the current streak reach 15. The forecast for the next week to ten days makes it a certainty the record will be shattered and may near or surpass 25 days which is quite alarming. All this heat does not make my apartment comfortable for the most part. Most days and well into the night the temperature is around 85 degrees or more, and it does not drop below 80 but for a few hours before and just after dawn. The thermometer in the bathroom which has no ventilation or fans has indicated a temperature above 90 degrees on some occasions. Fortunately, the bedroom is more favorable, being surrounded by other rooms both in my unit and from the neighboring unit; the temperature there does not get as warm as the main rooms and cools down a little more overnight as well, as I see temperatures below 75 degrees around 3 am and it does not get much above 82 by noon or early afternoon. Thus you can see that it is essential that I keep fans running virtually all the time. I have a fan in front of the bedroom window, one inside the front door, and one in front of the kitchen window. I also have two ceiling fans: one above my bed and the other in the main living room. These fans do a modest job of keep the place somewhat comfortable, but anyway you describe it means it is still hot and probably uncomfortable for most everyone whom would experience it, but I am getting used to it. But pretty much all the time in the last month or so I am only wearing shorts, no shirt and no socks in order to be minimally comfortable. I only have about five weeks left of the really warm weather hopefully, and I expect the middle ten days of September will bring a marked change to the weather with much cooler temps, particularly at night, which will make things much more comfortable. And in less than two months, the temperatures will decline enough at least for one day and probably more for me to have the urge to break out the space heater and think about putting the fans away. But the fans will probably in use regularly for the next six weeks to two months still. What I would not give to be able to spend five or six days on the water at Lake Powell enjoying boating, swimming. and camping...
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Well another week of work nears and I do not get much done during weekdays with the long hours, subsequent fatigue, and the aforementioned heat. I did put air in the White Knight's tires on Sunday and spent more than an hour reading the Sunday newspapers at Subway while enjoying a sub and some raspberry iced tea. I also watched some baseball over the weekend, catching all or part of six games including three Rockies - Reds games, two Redsox - Yankees games, and the Sunday afternoon Marlins - Cubs game. The Rockies are showing a little life as of late and have risen to just ten games under .500, but more importantly, just six games out of first place. It is a huge "if", but if they can maintain some consistency and continue to get back to the breakeven point during August, then just maybe September may have some meaning. Now that would be something and again. But the start of college football season is now just a little over a month away and the NFL exhibition games start next week (!).
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Cheyenne Frontier Days has come and gone, and the summer is now into its second half with the Dog Days ending in about two and one-half weeks. If everything works out, I hope to get some projects and tasks done in the coming weeks, and maybe we will get a cooler weekend before August ends so that my motivation will be greater. The little straightening up and organizing I did manage to complete was enough for me to accomplish the last two days.
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*****
I am a firm believer of what James Kunstler observes and comments on, and his latest article here is something that is quite evident to me regularly. To see the way most young Americans present themselves is to see a generation that is without direction, somewhat mindless, and crying out for help. I see it everyday in my (soon to end) work. Virtually all the coworkers at the factory fit the description of what Kunstler describes in his article. The younger ones under age 35 or so are walking creep shows with the ever present facial hair, often shaved heads or unusual haircuts, tattoos all over their bodies, harsh jewelry in strange places (noses, ears, eyelids, lips, and who knows where else -- I have heard places that are outright incredible and disgusting), fervant smokers, eager alcoholics, tshirts with profanity and obscenity, and an ever present look of anger and hostility towards the world. Profanity is included in virtually every sentence and in every conversation. Anger and hostility both overtly and subvertly is always present. Misguided and dangerous sexual conquests and ventures are the sole meaning of their warped existences. I would imagine many of these individuals have one or more sexual diseases that may become inevitably fatal for some at a point. Some boastfully crow about having a prison record and having been "in the joint". A more ragamuffin and hideous group of people I cannot imagine and certainly have never worked with or among. Most have a history of serious substance abuse and this job is the only thing that keeps them from returning to that life. Alcohol abuse is a common topic of conversation that I overhear. But at least they are working and making a living. But they clearly fit the description Kunstler presents in his article.
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